Did he Jump or was he Pushed? Gladiator Linguistic Evidence
- Deception Detection Lab
- Mar 24
- 2 min read
Date of publication: Monday, 24th March 2025 11.53am.
LinkedIn post link: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/did-he-jump-pushed-gladiator-linguistic-evidence-sunil-chadda-telye
So often the words ‘Did he jump or was he pushed’ can be associated with a company CEO or manager of a football team leaving their position.
In our example, we consider Saturday’s episode of Gladiators on BBC1. Running, ‘The Gauntlet’ in the semi-final, referee, Mark Clattenburg said that competitor, Joe F, ‘jumped’ out of the zone and therefore only completed three zones, giving him a total of six points.
In the follow up interview, Bradley Walsh, show host said, ‘You’re saying you didn’t jump out deliberately?’ to which Joe replied, ‘Look, I did not jump out on purpose, I wouldn’t do that.’
Even this short answer reveals a lot. Joe F uses twelve words to avoid saying - ‘Yes.’ Brevity is key and the shortest answer is the best. Longer answers can, as a result, include unnecessary information which can be used to attempt to convince someone, as opposed to simply conveying the truth.
Joe also changes the wording of the question from ‘deliberately’ to ‘on purpose.’ The latter can be an attempt to minimise the allegation without denying it. He was accused of ‘jumping out’. Joe could have said he was pushed out, but he doesn’t. The question could influence the answer to an extent, but with the change of language and the avoidance of saying, ‘I was pushed out’ we would downplay this.
Finally, Joe added, ‘I wouldn’t do that,’ which is future tense. Likely he wouldn’t, especially as his actions would likely be closely scrutinised.
He also doesn’t provide a reliable denial. Irrespective of whether he jumped out deliberately or not or whether he jumped out on purpose or not, he still ‘jumped out’ which was what he was accused of. He allows the allegation to stand.
The Linguistic Evidence confirms that Mark Clattenburg was right and that Joe F did jump out.
This is an example of how Linguistic Evidence can be applied to everyday life, albeit, in a fun example.
Imagine how useful it can be in real-time high-pressure situations when more is at stake.
Please contact us for further information as to how we can help you in real-time.
Programme Reference: Gladiators on BBC1 on Saturday, 22nd March 2025. See: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0029bky
All blog subjects are identified, validated and written by the DDL Team. See www.ddlltd.com for more on Deception Detection Lab Ltd. If you would like us to analyse some interesting words, then please get in touch. We are happy to give you a blog credit or else publish anonymously, if you would prefer.
Photo Credit: gladiatorstv.com
Photo Use Rationale: Our post helps the BBC in promoting Gladiators by generating interest and web and other traffic.
